VIDEO: Tiger in the hunt after miraculous splash and grab shot at Honda Classic

He might have 14 major championships and 75 PGA tour victories to his name but yesterday we learned something new about the greatest golfer of his generation.

Tiger Woods doesn’t mind getting his feet wet.

Tiger’s travails formed part of a fascinating opening day at the Honda Classic. World No 1 and defending champion Rory McIlroy, desperate to shake off his sluggish start to the season, was downbeat after a six at the last but a level par 70 contained a number of promising glimpses of the golfer within.

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Splash: Tiger Woods hit a 200-yard shot out of a water hazard after finding his ball

Courageous: Woods inspecting his ball which he deemed playable

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Local resident Lee Westwood, fourth in this event last year, again showed his liking for the course with a beautifully played 66 that left him just two off the pace set by one of the game’s forgotten men, Camilo Villegas from Colombia.

This was the first time in his life that Westwood had slept in his own bed and then gone out and played a tournament round. ‘If that’s what happens, long may it continue,’ he said.

Ulsterman Graeme McDowell commented in the build-up he felt he was close to his best form and here he matched word with deed with a fine 67. Justin Rose shot 68.

But let’s talk about Tiger, following an incident so unusual it was all over the television news shows in these parts. Four holes from home in the opening round, and a hooked drive into a lateral water hazard threatened to turn a lousy round into one damaged irrevocably.

His caddie, Joe LaCava had already given up on finding the ball and was pacing off the yardage from where he would play his third shot. Tiger? He never gives up.

Peering into the marshland he found his ball half-submerged in the water. ‘I can play a nine iron out of there,’ he thought to himself, and so began two minutes of drama that was manna from heaven for the thousands of spectators and photographers alike.

Miracle shot: Woods' head sticks out from within the marsh as he splashes his way up for a par

Going the extra mile: Some fans take their support to the extreme, as with this Woods fanatic

Off came the shoes and socks and the cream-coloured sweater. On came the waterproof trousers. All we could see when he swung at the ball was the sort of spray more normally associated with water sports. But out the ball came, some 200 yards nearer the green from where he would have been playing and from there he chipped and putted for a rather less than ho-hum par.

'Nice four,’ said Scot Craig Connelly, who caddies for Woods’s playing partner Martin Kaymer, with a huge grin on his face. ‘It was a four, wasn’t it?’ replied Tiger, clearly struggling himself to believe what had transpired.

And so what should have been a six that would have left him three over for his round became a par thanks to his indefatigable nature. How he was rewarded, as he birdied the 7th to turn in a level par 70. He should have been dead and buried, in the marsh. Instead, he is back on dry land.

While Tiger retreated for lunch congratulating himself on his great escape, Justin Rose was reflecting on the round that got away. At exactly the time Woods was walking furiously to his ball at the 6th Rose, in the group behind, was staring down a birdie putt at the 5th that looked certain to drop and take him to six under par.

The Englishman reached the turn in 32 blows and rolled in a putt at the 1st to take the lead at four under.

Dinner: A bird carries off a frog near the 11th fairway during the first round

Mixed: Justin Rose had a disappointing end to his round but still finished -2

A poor drive at the difficult second left him in trouble in a fairway bunker, with 190 yards still to fly. Rose’s response? A breathtaking six iron that finished just 6ft from the hole. At the next he pummelled a drive 321 yards – the longest on the hole all morning – and found the green at this par-five with a mid-iron.

The idea that he could end up just two strokes ahead of Woods at the end of play, therefore, seemed ludicrous. But that putt at the 5th decided to stay out. At the 6th he paid the price for a poor drive and then dropped shots at the 8th and 9th through indecision with his approach shots.

‘A shame,’ caddy Mark Fulcher called it, which was an exceedingly polite translation of Rose’s inner thoughts. ‘When you think how well I was playing it takes some figuring out that I only shot 68 but I guess you have to look at the positives and the good position I am in rather than what might have been,’ said Rose.

Miffed: Rory McIlroy had a frustrating round as he fails to fire with his new Nike clubs

Out of form: A rueful smile crosses the Northern Irishman's face

The popular McIlroy drew a huge crowd with everyone willing him to rediscover his muse. He began tentatively and was one over par after eight but seemed to visibly grow after his first birdie at the 9th, and was looking for a birdie at the par five 18th for a 68.

A pulled wedge from 105 yards however, finished in a horrible lie, from where he took a further three strokes, and the resultant bogey left him thoroughly cheesed off.

As for tournament leader, Villegas, when he followed his win in the Tour Championship in 2008 with victory here three years ago he seemed destined for superstar status. But he fell so far, so fast he lost his privileges to play on tour last year.

Playing here as a former champion, it was good to see him show a semblance of his best form. He also showed a good line in perspective. Asked what was his lowest point, the 30 year old said: ’We don’t have to take it to that extreme. Sure, I wasn’t having anything like as much fun as I was but it is still great to do what we do.’